Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Pete Ricketts knows that agriculture is vital to the state's economy as well as its way of life. "Agriculture is the heart and soul of who we are here in Nebraska," Ricketts said during a campaign stop in Sidney on Monday. "It drives the economy, 25 percent of the people here in Nebraska are employed in agriculture." For the past few months Ricketts traveled the state on an agriculture and manufacturing tour to determine the biggest issues facing those...
The Nebraska Department of Roads plans to widen several bridges on Interstate 80 which cross over roads in Cheyenne County during the next few years. In 2013 the Nebraska Department of Roads began a 20 year program to rebuild Interstate 80, according to Craig Lind, Nebraska Department of Roads highway district engineer. Last year the west bound lanes of Interstate 80 were replaced from Potter to Brownson while this year the east bound lanes for that section will be replaced. “All the bridges have to be widened,” Lind said. The state plans to...
The case against a 53-year-old Cheyenne County woman accused of assisting her husband’s suicide will move forward in district court this week. Two deputies from the Cheyenne County sheriff’s office testified at a preliminary hearing in the case in Cheyenne County court Friday. Deann Kimble, of Sidney is charged with assisting suicide and concealing human skeletal remains, both class four felonies. The court found that the offenses for which the defendant is charged did occur and that there is probable cause that the defendant committed the...
Women are an integral part of farming and ranching operations in the panhandle. The 14th annual Women in Agriculture gathering, held at the Sidney Holiday Inn on Friday, set out to inform women about what's going on in agriculture today, in a comfortable setting. Karen DeBoer, educator at the Cheyenne County extension of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, which hosted the conference, estimated that there were around 60 women in attendance. "I think women are a really important asset in a farmin...
Mike Hilgers believes he's uniquely qualified to be Nebraska's next attorney general because he has a definite plan for how to fight federal government overreach. American freedoms are based on the idea that citizens are governed by laws and not men, Hilgers said. Unelected officials in the Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services and others in Washington D.C. are making decisions for the states which Hilgers said are unlawful. "You have these people who are unaccountable to...
Nathan Pohl, 29 pled no contest on Wednesday to charges of attempted burglary and escape, both class four felonies. The Sidney man was initially arrested in February when law enforcement found him trespassing at the golf course mower shed. Upon his arrest, police allegedly found several items inside his vehicle that were taken from the mower shed. Later on that very frigid day, Pohl reportedly escaped the police department through a side door without a coat or shoes. He was located when an employee at Points West Bank on Glover Rd. reported...
In Cheyenne County district court on Wednesday Sean Gdowski entered a plea of not guilty to four counts lodged against him in connection with rural break-ins and drug crime in Cheyenne County. Gdowski is charged with one count of theft by receiving stolen property, a class three felony, one count of criminal attempt of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school, a class two felony, possession of methamphetamine, a class four felony, and criminal possession of a financial transaction device, a class three...
Cheyenne County district court found Wyatt Coleman, 26 guilty of one count of theft by unlawful taking, a class four felony on Wednesday. He was originally charged with theft, a class three felony, but Coleman entered into a plea agreement with the state in exchange for reduced charges. Coleman reportedly stole a blue Chevy pickup truck from a residence in Sidney in Dec. 2013. The pickup was recovered by the Weld County sheriff’s department Greeley, Colo. a few days later. Coleman was reportedly driving the truck on Interstate 76 when he was p...
Work isn’t everything. As someone who’s worked closely with the elderly, I can tell you that in one’s golden years, the fondest recollections of a life of events never involve how well you crafted expense reports or how many hours you spent laboring over spreadsheets at your desk. Although one’s occupation might be an integral part of one’s identity, it doesn’t make up all of who and what a person is. Being a reporter is a big part of who I am, I work a lot and I think about work quite a bit when I’m not working. I probably read an unhealthy...
Sidney is among the top ten places to live in Nebraska, according to a blog by Movoto, a real estate research website. Movoto conducted a study of the 31 biggest cities in Nebraska to determine which were the best places to reside. The rankings were based on amenities, quality of life, crime, tax rates, unemployment, commute time and weather. It ranked Sidney number eight on the list. The criteria that factor into quality of life include cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income and student to teacher ratio....
A local fourth grade class was surprised with a personal response and some free candy after reaching out to the company that produces Sixlets. When Judi Roach's fourth grade class began studying fractions with the help of Sixlets candy, the class discovered that the packets included varying amounts of candy. The class also wondered how the company created the name "Sixlets." The kids decided to send a video to the company containing some of its questions and what they'd discovered regarding the...
Law enforcement arrested a local woman last week for assisting in her husband’s suicide and then hiding his body. A complaint filed by the Cheyenne County attorney’s office on March 28 charged Deann Kimble with assisting suicide and concealing human skeletal remains, both class four felonies. Kimble was arrested on March 26. On the morning of March 26, the Cheyenne County sheriff’s office received a tip that the unattended death of Russell Kimble might have occurred at the igloo storage units, about six miles west and two miles north of Sidne...
Nebraska state senator Pete Pirsch hopes to leave the legislature next year to work as Nebraska attorney general. "This has been a long standing goal of mine," Pirsch said. "I'm very passionate about the opportunity to serve in this position, to make a difference in the lives of Nebraskans." Pirsch believes current attorney general Jon Bruning, who's running for governor this year, has the office on the right track. Pirsch knows that the partnership between the state's county attorneys and the...
A jury convicted Larry Martinez of first degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony last night after only 53 minutes of deliberations. The jury of 11 men and 1 woman heard four days of evidence in Cheyenne County district court before reaching its conclusion. Martinez shot and killed Mandy Kershman at a residence on the north side of Sidney on July 18, 2012. He was reportedly angered by a text that Kershman sent to him shortly before the shooting. During closing arguments Thursday...
In a small room at the Sidney police department, just hours after 30-year-old Mandy Kershman’s death, Larry Martinez confessed to law enforcement that he shot her. Martinez, 54 of Sidney, is charged with first degree murder, a class IA felony and use of a firearm to commit a felony, a class IC felony for allegedly shooting and killing Kershman on July 18, 2012. Although Martinez’s voice was sometimes difficult to hear on the video interview shown in court on Wednesday, some of the defendant’s statements were clear. The video showed the jury...
We could all use a good dose of self doubt from time to time. Of course it’s great to be confidant, aware of your own strengths and to have faith in your abilities to accomplish difficult tasks and to do well or even excel at your job. But overconfidence can not only put off those around you, but can make you careless in your work. A healthy amount of self doubt make us double check what we’ve done, spend a little more time on tasks and to worry a bit if we’ve done as well as we could have. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Ove...
During the second day of testimony in the trial of the state of Nebraska vs. Larry Martinez the defense called into question how much the defendant, who has a hearing impairment, actually understood during an interview with police. Martinez, 54, is charged with first degree murder, a class IA felony and the use of a firearm to commit a felony, a class IC felony, for shooting and killing 30-year-old Mandy Kershman. Martinez, who was reportedly angered by a derogatory text message from Kershman, who he was dating at the time, is accused of...
On July 18, 2012, allegedly inflamed by an insulting text message, Larry Martinez shot and killed 30-year-old Mandy Kershman. Monday marked the first day of a weeklong trial in Cheyenne County District Court which will determine if Martinez, now 54, is guilty of first degree murder and the use of a firearm to commit a felony. Representing the prosecution in this case are Cheyenne County attorney Paul Schaub, and assistant attorneys general and special appointed Cheyenne County attorneys Michael Guinan and Sandra Allen. Representing the defense...
The third first degree murder trial in Cheyenne County District Court in a matter of four months began hearing evidence Monday. Jury selection in the case of the state of Nebraska vs. Larry Martinez took place Friday and the trial is scheduled to run through the end of this week. Martinez, 54 of Sidney, is charged with first degree murder, a class IA felony and use of a firearm to commit a felony, a class IC felony, for allegedly shooting and killing 30-year-old Mandy Kershman. Martinez is accused of shooting Kershman, also of Sidney, on July...
Jason Custer will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Custer was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for fatally shooting Adam McCormick in the front yard of a Sidney home nearly a year and a half ago. In the state of Nebraska, life in prison is mandated for first degree murder convictions. Additionally, Custer received a sentence of 20-50 years in prison for use of a firearm to commit a felony and 10-20 years imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a felon. Custer was ordered to serve time for both of these additional...
Bell Lumber and Pole decided to precede its grand opening, May 8, with a charitable donation to the community. Bell, which will soon open its utility pole treatment facility on the Adams Industries site west of Sidney, donated $2,500 to CASA or court appointed special advocates earlier this year. The company contacted the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce to learn about donation-worthy organizations in the area. The chamber recommended CASA. CASA is a non-profit organization which serves as...
A public meeting held to discuss plans for a new city swimming pool brought forth quite a few concerns from Sidney residents about the type of pool and its possible location. Several members of city council as well as other members of the public attended the meeting, held on Wednesday at the city offices. “Probably from a city standpoint, what we can definitely afford to build is an outdoor pool,” Sidney mayor Wendall Gaston informed those in attendance. The city has allocated 30 percent of the new half percent sales tax that will be col...
I have no patience for people who attempt to completely ignore the unpleasant things that happen in life. I totally believe that sensationalism in the news is wrong and that constant streams of stories about murders and explosions is not a fair representation of what’s happening in the world. But bad things do happen often and people need to know about it. I recently reconnected with a very close friend from high school on Facebook. We exchanged quite a few lengthy messages talking about what was new in our lives before I told her about some n...
As Sidney’s economy and workforce grow, so will its boundaries. Sidney’s planning commission voted to begin the process of adding four pieces of property to the city’s boundaries at Monday’s meeting. One of the parcels planned for annexation is the location of the new Love’s Travel Stop south of the Holiday Inn by Interstate 80. “Obviously with what Love’s is intending to do now, it’s imperative for them to have this process go as quickly as we can,” said city manager Gary Person. The city can only create street improvement districts inside its...
A Love’s Travel Stop is officially coming to Sidney. Steve Walters the project manager for Love’s Travel Stops spoke with the planning commission Monday, prior to their rezoning of land south of the Holiday Inn near Interstate 80 from agriculture to heavy commercial in order to build the facility. “It’s a very exciting project for the community,” said city manager Gary Person. “It’s something that we’ve aspired to have for some time is an additional truck stop here. With all the traffic going up and down the interstate we run into situations wi...
